RESIDENTS are invited to attend a consultation event to find out more about proposals to improve library services in Atherton.

It will be held at Atherton Library from 6.30pm to 8pm on Thursday.

Wigan Council is proposing to move the library from York Street to the former town hall building.

Currently empty, the building on Bolton Road is set to become a community hub.

The council has vowed to keep all 15 libraries in the borough open despite many having closed their doors all over the country.

Atherton councillors have also promised to ensure plenty of books are available on shelves.

But the council says £1.4 million cuts need to be made to library services.

An official consultation asking residents how they currently use library services in the borough launched in November and ends on February 5.

Its aim is to identify ways in which services can be improved to make them more efficient and effective.

Twenty-eight public consultation events and drop-in sessions have also taken place across the borough’s libraries to gather residents’ views.

Cllr Paul Kenny, cabinet member for leisure at the council, said: “We understand how important our libraries are to residents.

"Over the years we have seen them transform.

"These days they are about much more than books. Community groups use them to host dementia-friendly sessions, craft groups meet up in them, young families use them for story time and residents use them to get on the internet to search for jobs or to print things off.

"They bring communities together, which is why it is absolutely imperative that we do all we can to protect them for the future.

"But to do this we need to transform.

“Atherton Library is an asset to the community and it is important we retain it.

"By transforming services now we will be able to maintain the service for the future.”

To take part in the consultation visit wigan.gov.uk/libraryconsultation. Alternatively paper copies can be found in the borough's libraries.